CC Minutes - 02/21/00 Work Session

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said that the combined measure could appear to be an "all or nothing" proposition to the voters. He recommended that if one failed, it be offered to the voters again in November. Mr. Lee asked what happened if one measure failed and the other passed. Mr. Johnson said that the council would have a number of choices: it could go back to the ballot in November, it could move out the service to another location, or it could choose to leave one of the services in place and spend more money on the seismic retrofit. Mr. Farr spoke in support of a combined measure, saying if it failed the council had the opportunity to go back to the voters in November. Mr. Meisner agreed with Mr. Farr. He said both facilities were essential because of the inadequacy of City Hall. If one measure passed and the other failed, the council would still have to act, and would have to scramble for interim solutions. Ms. Nathanson asked if the task force discussed the issue. Mr. Laue said yes. He said that the issue was one of leadership for the council. He said he criticized the legislature because it constantly referred measures to the voters, and to some degree the idea of "giving choices" to people seemed to be skirting responsibility. If the council believed the issue was significant to ask the public about it, it indicated its concern about the issue. He thought votes might be lost if the issues were separated, and the other options were not a good expenditure of public funds. Mayor Torrey supported a single measure funding both facilities. Ms. Taylor did not see how the City would be required to move the police to temporary quarters if the measure failed. She asked if both departments would be moved out. Mr. Johnson said it was likely. The motion failed, 2:5; Mr. Rayor and Ms. Taylor voting yes. The meeting adjourned at 7:16 p.m. (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 21, 2000 Page 9 5:30 p.m.